Structural piles and methods of preparing pipe foundations



June 21, 1966 A. SIEDENHANS STRUCTURAL FILES AND METHODS OF PREPARING PIPE FOUNDATIONS Filed Oct. 29, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A A K N N IM, F K w w w 5 m 7 will? -7 fi Wnwi W m I w W m H I n Jnvenfor: A Scec/en bans GLLJMWJA $52414 ATTORNEHS June 21, 1966 A. SIEDENHANS 3,256,694

STRUCTURAL FILES AND METHODS OF PREPARING PIPE FOUNDATIONS Filed Oct. 29, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jill! Jn van/0r. A Sdec/en hams ATTOILNESS Jun e 1965 A. SIEDENHANS 3,256,694

STRUCTURAL FILES AND METHODS OF PREPARING PIPE FOUNDATIONS Filed Oct. 29, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Jn van/or: A.5Leden/2a ns 631M014? gay June 21, 1966 A. SIEDENHANS 3,256,694

STRUCTURAL PILES AND METHODS OF PREPARING PIPE FOUNDATIONS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 29, 1962 Jn venfor: A.5Leden/7cm5 GhMQQ gACw ORNEsS United States Patent 3,256,694 STRUCTURAL PILES AND METHODS OF PREPARING PIPE FOUNDATIONS Alfons iedenhans, Bremen-Saint Magnus, Germany, assignor to Bremische Spaunbetonwerke Hillmann dz (10., Bremen, Germany, a firm of Germany Filed Oct. 29, 1962, Ser. No. 233,521 4 Claims. (Cl. 615tl) This invention relates to a method of preparing pile foundations for buildings of all types and to pile foundations produced thereby.

In prior art round wooden piles, steel concrete piles as well as prefabricated tensioned concrete piles and driven steel piles were used for pile foundations wherein the foundation soil ground is located very deeply and is superposed by poor layers of soil.

An object of the present invention is to provide for such difficult soil formations a building foundation which is as simple as possible, which-is satisfactory for all requirements and which is particularly suitable for high buildings.

The present invention utilizes known pre-tensioned concrete piles. The advantages of tensioned concrete consist in that by introducing so-called pre-tension forces into the concrete a condition of tension is created, so that when the concrete is subjected to the useful load no tensile stresses will develop therein and the danger of cracks is eliminated; thus a construction material is produced which is permanently durable and which does not require any attention.

Another object of the present invention is to eliminate various difficulties which are encountered during the construction of high buildings, towers, silos, industrial buildings, masts, valley dams, bridges, timber works, landing installations and similar structures.

In all these constructions substantial horizontal forces are added to the vertical loads consisting of own weight and Working load, such additional forces consisting, for example, of wind pressure, earth pressure or water pressure in the case of supporting walls or dam walls, braking forces in the case of crane ways, etc. Obviously, these horizontal forces will be greater, the higher is their point of origin above the foundation level. Finally, dynamic stresses can also appear produced by machine vibrations and movements, traffic vibration and the like.

Actually each foundation of a structure has the purpose of securely transmitting all the above-mentioned loads and forces to the soil ground. This is particularly important for buildings of great height which are being constructed in modern times.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for transmit-ting all the above-mentioned loads and forces securely and in a statically perfect manner to the foundation soil ground.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In accomplishing the objects of the present-invention it was found desirable to use as foundation or ground work for structural elements, such as walls, supports, box carriers, frame rods, struts or masts consisting of several superposed tubular parts or the like, pretensioned driven down piles of steel tubing or steel boxes which are produced on location in a manner known per se, and the preliminary tension of which is developed after the hardening of the concrete by members having upper free portions to which the structural elements are directly and operatively connected by special couplings.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the structural elements connected to the upper free portions of the tensioning members are also strengthened by tensioning members mounted in concrete, whereby these 3,256,694 Patented June 21, 1966 ice extended tensioning members are tensioned floor by floor or by several floors at a time.

The present invention is further concerned with the special construction of the extended tensioning members in the mounted structural elements, with the manner of the arrangement and connection of the driven piles and also with the pre-tensioned concrete piles connected by the tensioning members, as well as with the use of a larger group of driven tensioned concrete piles and their connec- .tion by a ground plate.

Furthermore, a special novel feature of the present invention resides in the additional provision of a widened concrete pile leg at the lower end of the driven pile, the leg being provided with a steel spiral which is held at the tiebolt of the tensioning member to a smaller diameter than the clear space diameter of the driven pile and which is pushed into the leg when the tensioning member is introduced.

Finally, this invention is concerned with the new and advantageous construction of the driven concrete pile.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings showing by way of example only, various preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows diagrammatically in side view, partly in section, a high building consisting of a pile foundation, supports and framing carriers having prefabricated tensioned concrete members.

FIGURE 2 shows, by way of example, diagrammatical- 1y partly in side view and partly in section a tubular mast and its pile foundation.

FIGURE 2a is a transverse section through the mast shown in FIG. 2 on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 3 shows, by way of example, in section a box pile having four tensioning members.

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating on a larger scale a driven tensioned concrete pile combined with a pile leg provided with a reinforcing spiral.

FIGURE 4a is similar to FIG. 4 and shows the tensioning members after their downward movement.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic side view, partly in section, showing a particular construction of a coupling for the tensioning members.

In accordance with the present invention, pile foundations for the erection of constructions, particularly high buildings, are produced by means of tensioned driven concrete piles in the following manner:

Long piles consisting of steel tubes 10 (FIG. 1) serving as casings, or of steel box covers 10a (FIG. 3) are driven into the ground at the installation, namely, on location. Tensioning elements consisting of channelforming tubes 11 (known per se) are inserted into these tubes and covers; adjustable tensioning means 12, consisting of one or several tensioning wires or tensioning steel inserts are located in the tubes 11. Spacers 13 are used to hold the channel-building tubes 11 in position within the hollow interior of the pile; the outer surfaces of the tubes 11 are fluted in a known manner.

FIGURE 3 shows, by way of example, a pile having a steel box cover 10a which is rectangular in cross-section and which is provided with recesses at the corners. The box cover is filled with concrete 14. In this construction the tubes 11 form several channels which are arranged at an angle to' each other and which constitute enclosures for the tensioning steel inserts.

Obviously, the channel-forming tubes can be centrally located.

The tensioning members are held at the pile leg 15 (FIG. 40) by a rigid tiebolt 16 which is embedded in concrete.

As shown in FIG. 5, at the head of the pile there is provided a tensioning bolt 17 which is known per se and which has a supporting nut 17a.

The driven piles can be also made in sections as the work proceeds from pipe ends which are joined one to the other, for example, by butt welding.

After the insertion of the tensioning members consisting of the tubes 11 containing tensioning inserts 12, a high quality concrete mixture 14 is introduced from the bottom up into the hollow interior of the pile and is solidified. After the solidification of the concrete filling, the tensioning steels 12 located in the tubes 11 are pre-tensioned individually or jointly in the known manner and are anchored in the tensioned state to the concrete filling, whereupon the tubes 11 are provided with cement mortar under pressure.

In accordance with the present invention, the upper ends of piles consisting of steel tubes or steel box covers and driven into the construction location, .particularly the free tensioning bolts provided at the upper ends (FIG. are connected by tensioning couplings 18 directly with construction elements used in the erection of high buildings H (FIG. 1), such as walls, supports, box carriers, frame rods, struts or the like, so as to provide a force-transmitting connection.

By way of example, the high building H having a locally made tensioned concrete pile foundation includes supports S of ready-made tensioned concrete members and framework carriers P which are fixed to the tensioned steel inserts 12 of the posts by articulated couplings 18, 19, whereupon they are vertically tensioned in sections and are thus firmly fixed to the soil capable of supporting the foundation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the tensioning articulated coupling is formed by a sleeve 18 which is screwed upon the upper end 23 of the tensioning bolt 17; the sleeve 18 has a semi-spherical recess 18a and a c'onically outwardly extending opening 18b. A spherical anchor head 19 which is located in the recess 18a, carries tensioning steels 20. These steels extend from the bottoms of the attached prefabricated concrete members 21. Thus the members 21 can be placed in vertical or any desired inclined positions.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driven pretensioned piles 10 which, as is known, may extend at acute angles to each other, may be connected with further converging pretensioned concrete members 22 which may constitute walls, the connections being carried out by freely extending tensioning members 23 (FIG. 5) and tensioning articulated couplings 18 which also serve as carriers for the structural members.

The structural members attached to the couplings 18 can consist of a plurality of superposed tubular sections 24, so that a mast 25 is produced, shown in FIG. 2. The tubular sections 24 also contain tensioning steels 12 in covering tubes 11, as shown in FIG. 2a. They can be also interconnected by tensioning couplings in the above described manner.

When a group of posts is used, it is advantageous to provide a connection between the tensioning bolts 17 and the couplings 18 by means of a concrete plate 26 (FIG. 2) or concrete plate 2611 (FIG. 5) which are made on location.

FIGURES 4 and 4a show the lower end of a driven pile 10 before and after the downward shifting of the tensioning members, respectively. As shown, a wider hollow space a, which receives a concrete pile leg 15, is provided at the lower end of the pile for the purpose of establishing the foundation; the hollow space 15a is formed by excavating and clearing the ground.

A holder 27 which, by way of example, may be of U-shaped form, is slidably mounted within the pile 10 and is provided with slits 27a; a steel spiral spring 28 is inserted into the slits 27a. When the tensioned members 11, 12 are shifted downwardly with the lower distancing holder 13 connected to the tensioned member 11, the spiral spring 28 will move into the larger hollow space 15a and will expand due to its own resiliency. In the compressed condition the spiral spring 28 has a smaller diameter than that of the tubular pile. The pile 10 has at its lower end a band-shaped reinforcement 29 which may be engaged by the lower distancing holder 13.

The spring holder 27 which slides freely upon the tube 11, will be taken along by the holder 13 due to spring tension in the slits 27a when the tensioning members move downwardly, and will continue its movement until the holder 13 engages the reinforcement 29 of the pile 10.

Thereupon the hollow space 15a 'is filled with concrete to form the pile leg and the pile 10 is filled from the bottom up with concrete 14.

Thus in accordance with the present invention the concrete pile leg 15 is reinforced by armoring constituted by the spiral spring 28.

A pipe 30 serving as an air vent extends upwardly through the pile 10 and is attached to the lower tiebolt 16 holding the tensioning members 11, 12 supported by the holder 13; the upper end of the pipe 30 extends into the atmosphere. The pipe 30 provides for the removal of air while mortar is being pressed in.

FIGURES 4, 4a and 5 show by way of example, a construction of tensioning members wherein a single covering tube 11 provided with tensioning steels 12 is centrally located in the pile 10. However, as shown in FIG. 3, it is also possible to provide several tensioning members, each consisting of a tube 11 and of steels 12 therein. Other variations and modifications may be also made in the described constructions within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

-1. A method of installing a pile construction supporting a structural element, said method comprising driving a hollow pile into the ground, inserting into the pile a tube containing a tensioning insert, introducing a concrete filling into the pile, tensioning said tensioning insert, introducing cement mortar into the tube, anchoring the upper end of said tube to the concrete filling, attaching to said upper end a coupling having a sleeve with a head pivotally anchored therein, and attaching an additional tensioning member to said head, said additional tensioning member extending upwardly from said coupling, whereby structural elements may be secured thereto.

2. A method of installing a pile construction supporting a structural element, said method comprising digging space for a pile footing in the ground, driving a hollow pile into the ground with the lower end of the pile being located in said space, said lower end carrying a compressed resilient element, inserting into the pile a tube containing -a tensioning insert, said tube expanding said resilient element and causing it to fill said space, introducing through said space from below a concrete filling into the pile, tensioning said tensioning insert, introducing cement mortar into the tube, anchoring the upper end of said tube to the concrete filling, attaching to said upper end a coupling having a sleeve with a head pivotally anchored therein, and attaching an additional tensioning member to said head, said additional tensioning member extending upwardly from said coupling, whereby structural elements may be secured thereto.

'3. A pile construction for supporting a structural element, said pile construction comprising a ground driven hollow pile, a tube within said pile, a tensioning insert within said tube, a tensioning bolt connected with the upper end of said tensioning insert, a sleeve threaded upon said bolt, an anchor head pivotally mounted in said sleeve and an additional tensioning member connected to said head and extending upwardly from said sleeve, whereby structural elements may be secured thereto.

4. In a pile construction for supporting a structural element, said pile construction comprising a ground driven hollow pile having a lower end, concrete enclosing said lower end and constituting a pile footing, a tube within said pile, a tensioning insert within said tube, a bandshaped reinforcement upon the lower end of said pile, a slotted spring holder located within said pile and connected with the lower end of said tube, a distancing holder located within said pipe between said spring holder and said reinforcement, and a coiled spring adapted to engage the slots of said slotted spring holder, said tube during installation of said pile being moved downward-1y to cause said spring holder to move said distancing holder in engagement with said reinforcement and to move said 15 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

coiled spring into the pile footing, whereupon the coiled spring is enclosed by said concrete.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain. Great Britain. 'Italy.

JACOB SHAPIRO, EARL J. WITMER, Examiners. 

1. A METHOD OF INSTALLING A PILE CONSTRUCTION SUPPORTING A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT, SAID METHOD COMPRISING DRIVING A HOLLOW PILE INTO THE GROUND, INSERTING INTO THE PILE A TUBE CONTAINING A TENSIONING INSERT, INTRODUCING A CONCRETE FILLING INTO THE PILE, TENSIONING SAID TENSIONING INSERT, INTRODUCING CEMENT MORTAR INTO THE TUBE, ANCHORING THE UPPER END OF SAID TUBE TO THE CENTER FILLING, ATTACHING TO SAID 